Luiz Felipe Scolari suffered a blip in Basle last night but, such is his stock at present, it still felt as if this is a man who can pick and choose his defeats. Portugal had this group won after the first two fixtures. The swashbuckling form that had previously illuminated their campaign may have been checked here but the soon-to-be Chelsea manager could still afford a shrug and a smile rather than anything more explosive at the final whistle.

The Brazilian had his moments, though, the second string selected against the co-hosts Switzerland not escaping the occasional tongue-lashing from the dug-out, particularly as a card-happy referee threatened to undermine his plans for the knockout phase. Scolari had made eight changes here but the Austrian official had him wishing he had been even more radical in his approach.

"I made a mistake and should have made 11 changes, not eight," he said. "We ran too many risks picking three players who had already played in the other matches. I made a big mistake in that."

That statement of culpability sounded rather surreal, and there was a heavy dose of sarcasm in his assessment of Konrad Plautz's performance as "excellent". Paulo Ferreira, one of the three players retained from the victory over the Czechs but booked for a lunge on Valon Behrami, was hauled off before the interval, with Scolari fearing a suspension. "I'm responsible for this mistake," he added. "I regret all the cards because we'll carry them into the next phase. There were many risks out there, which is why I'm annoyed that I took them. I was telling my players not to complain and not to make any mistakes."

A quartet of players accrued yellows which fanned his simmering regret, but little else mattered. Portugal should have won this match and so been propelled into the quarter-finals with a trio of victories to their name, but they struck the woodwork twice and then succumbed to a brace from Hakan Yakin in the last 20 minutes. The Manchester United winger Nani missed their best opportunity, sent scurrying through by Miguel Veloso only to strike his shot against the post when he should have scored.

The retiring goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler had done well to turn Pepe's first-half flick from Nani's free-kick on to the angle of post and bar to keep the Swiss afloat before the interval. Other chances were passed up, too, but Scolari would not countenance any suggestion that the decision to announce his imminent arrival at Stamford Bridge had contributed to a first defeat for his side.

It was a theory backed up by his players. "I was sad when he told us because it means we are losing a man and a coach who was primarily responsible for the way we have recovered confidence as a squad and a team, but he was totally honest throughout all this process," said the midfielder Deco. "He was at the end of his contract and people have to understand that he has to make the right decisions for his professional career.

"He is the man responsible for the spirit and life we have inside this team and for the fantastic sense of unity we have between us. But above all I was happy for him. We are all with him and now we are even more motivated to reach our objective, which is to be champions of Europe."

That dream remains plausible today even in defeat, though this was arguably Köbi Kuhn's night. The Swiss had endured a desperate tournament, suffering unfortunate defeats to the Czechs and Turks to ensure elimination while their coach of seven years endured personal trauma with his wife in a coma in hospital. She is now awake again and recovering slowly, with this Kuhn's last match as manager before he is replaced by Ottmar Hitzfeld. His players unfurled a banner thanking him at the final whistle. Victory was an appropriate way to go out.

His side had played well enough, the excellent Gökhan Inler forcing Ricardo into unconvincing saves from distance and then clipping the outside of a post. Yakin had seen a first-half header well saved, but his luck turned. Eren Derdiyok's clever reverse flick liberated him 19 minutes from time and his volley, low and true through Ricardo's legs, forced the Swiss ahead.

Fernando Meira's trip on the substitute Tranquillo Barnetta confirmed the victory near the end, Yakin ramming in the resultant penalty to ensure the Swiss bowed out on a high. For Scolari, headier days lie ahead.